Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 73 No one is exempted, and everyone is talking about it

The new emperor of the Ming Dynasty officially ascended the throne and issued a special decree: the capital city was exempted from the three-night curfew.

There were so many people coming and going that Liu Jing's presence was not too noticeable.

So Liu Jing certainly did not think he was stupid: in the three nights today and tomorrow, before the new emperor's first court meeting, countless people in the capital would visit their "relatives and friends" at their homes, or linger in restaurants and brothels.

Tian Le thought he was stupid because he knew the purpose of this special decree.

"Don't come running to me. The post of Liaodong General Commander is up to His Majesty." Tian Le let him drink half a cup of tea before he drove him away. "There are only three days left before the prisoner surrender ceremony. You should go back and prepare well."

"Da Sima, I'm not doing this, I..."

Tian Le's head was a little buzzing, and he stood up: "If you are always so confused and muddle-headed, how can His Majesty dare to use you?"

"... Grand Marshal, what do you mean by this?" Liu Jing was somewhat confused.

"If you don't understand, go back and think about the accession edict carefully!"

"...I didn't remember it, and I can't remember it."

"Take it back and have a look!"

Until Liu Jing left Tian Le's house, he did not realize that Tian Le had hand-copied a copy of the imperial edict for him and took it out on the spot.

Since arriving in Beijing, Tian Le asked him more questions about Liaodong affairs in the Ministry of War. Liu Jing felt that Tian Le looked at him differently, so he came to get close to him.

Today, Tian Le had something else in mind when he spoke, so Liu Jing did not dare to neglect him.

When he returned to the inn where he was staying temporarily in the capital, he couldn't see what the place had in it.

Dumbfounded.

Really, whether it’s Li Hualong or Tian Le, these governors and governors-general who came from a civil service background always use this trick.

Is there anything that can't be said openly?

And I didn’t bring my wife either…

There were also some people in the homes of Shen Yikuan, Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, and Zhu Guozuo.

"How could the enthronement edict drafted by the cabinet be like this?"

"Revise the regulations for the vassal states, eliminate redundant supervisors, suspend the construction of the three palaces and two gates, and reorganize the Beijing camp... Apart from these four specific matters, there is nothing else?"

"What about amnesty? What about transfer rotation? What about exemption?"

Listening to so many people talking, Shen Yikuan did not say a word.

"Prime Minister, you are the hope of the whole world. The imperial edict does not mention any amnesty or pardon. The whole world cannot be at peace!"

Shen Yikuan looked up and saw a doctor from the Ministry of Revenue who was one of his fellow Zhejiang natives.

Because of this person's words, the others also looked at Shen Yikuan.

He was silent for a while, then slowly said, "Don't you remember what happened in September?"

Everyone thought of the incident of "overriding imperial power".

"…But this time the edict of enthronement was very different from usual. Outside Chengtian Gate, all the ministers were shocked when they heard the edict. No additional taxes would be exempted, no disasters would be exempted, no arrears would be exempted, and no grain for aid to the border would be exempted…"

"Prime Minister, the Cabinet will certainly not be unaware of the importance of this matter. Is this the will of His Majesty? What does His Majesty want to do..."

"Could it be that the reason why Lord Yu died of illness due to worry and overwork, and why the Prime Minister begged for his remains several times, was all because of the provisions of the imperial edict?"

There was a burst of discussion in the Shen family's flower hall. Shen Yi Guan looked at everyone calmly and let them think and discuss as much as they wanted.

It is just the amnesty and pardon that every new emperor would receive when he ascended the throne. What does it count for?
Shen Yiquan could swallow this grievance because the situation had reached that point.

Is it the same in the residences of Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue now?

Such an imperial edict was announced to the world. Could it be that Shen Yikuan was the one who instigated the overwhelming public opinion? Was it Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue who were also instigating this time?
The two old foxes had not made it clear to the successor before, and they just went with the flow and polished and drafted the edict.

Now that the heir apparent has become the emperor, there is no longer any problem with the throne, and everything that is supposed to happen will erupt!
As for pardoning people, with the precedent of Cao Xuecheng and the current performance evaluation and recruitment system of the Ministry of Personnel, everyone can accept it.

But with regard to the many taxes, annual taxes, official taxes, miscellaneous taxes...all kinds of money and goods that are in arrears or will be payable in the future, there is no mention of what the consequences will be of exempting them. Does the emperor have any idea?
Look, in fact, all they care about is: exemption, exemption, exemption!
"Don't ask any more questions." Shen Yi Guan stopped their discussion. "I was honored to be appointed as a minister. I dared not not speak frankly at that time, but I was suspected of bullying the emperor. Although the curfew was lifted for three nights, the factory guards would not be idle. I am afraid that Your Majesty wants to see what the court and the public have to say about this edict."

After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent. Shen Yi Guan stood up tremblingly: "I am already in my seventies, and my body is getting weaker with each passing year. The court is in a state of turmoil, and I can no longer bear the damage."

"Prince, you are old but still strong, why do you say that?"

"Yes, Prime Minister! We all know that there is no so-called Zhejiang Party. You are the foundation of the Jiangnan country, and all officials and gentry still rely on you..."

"I can no longer block the wind or the rain!"

Shen Yikuan paused for a moment with the cane in his hand.

He started using this after September. It seemed that after that incident, his spirit had been drained a lot and his body had become much weaker.

"... Elder Shen and Elder Wang, aren't they also from Jiangnan?" Shen Yiguan raised a hand and waved, "I can't care less, please go back."

He asked the guests to be seen off, and then, supported by an old servant, slowly walked towards the backyard, leaving behind many "Zhejiang Party" officials in the flower hall who were looking at each other in bewilderment.

Everything that needs to be said has been said, and everything that needs to be mentioned has been mentioned.

There was bound to be some trouble, but this time, Shen Yikuan didn't want to appear in the emperor's sight as the "party leader" again.

He should just be a prime minister who is preparing to retire.

Just as Shen Yikuan had expected, there were indeed many people at Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue's houses, and everyone was talking about the issue of the enthronement edict.

Shen Shixing's reaction was much more tactful.

"Years of war have emptied the treasury! Not to mention the rewards for the Bozhou campaign, even the Korean campaign and the Songshan campaign have not been given enough. Your Majesty is benevolent, but it is really hard to express! You have dismissed the mining supervisor and tax collector at the request of the ministers, and reformed the regulations for the royal family, eliminated redundant supervisors, and cut down on the abuses in the Beijing camp. These are all measures to save money! The court meeting is about to start, but only the Huangji Gate will be rebuilt first, and the construction of the other three palaces and two gates will be suspended. Don't you understand?"

Wang Xijue said very clearly: "Your Majesty has set an example of saving money. Can't the officials and gentry of the world respond? Instead, they are worried about the fact that the imperial edict does not exempt the taxes that should be paid or the taxes owed? How can the subjects only let Your Majesty suffer and seek favors for themselves? I have only said these words of painstaking effort. Don't tell me that you don't understand! I don't care about the rest. Since you can come to visit my Wang family, I only have one thing to say!"

He stared at these people: "Times are different now! Your Majesty's decree is acceptable to me, Wang Xijue! You come to me, and I advise you: Don't take advantage of the difficulties of ordinary people's livelihood and collectively petition for the arrears to be forgiven!"

Shen Yiquan was right as he expected, the factory guards were indeed working overtime.

Wang Zhizhen "obeyed the emperor's order" to reorganize the Jinyiwei, and during this period of time he was the most favored by the emperor in the Jinyiwei.

Zhu Changluo approved all the personnel changes he requested.

Now, Luo Sigong has been promoted to the position of Pacification Commissioner of the Southern Pacification Division.

Although they were only of the fourth rank, most of the second and third rank Jinyiwei at that time were just receiving salaries or wages, and did not actually manage affairs and hold power within the guard.

The Southern Pacification Division was responsible for the internal military discipline, punishment, and military craftsmen of the Jinyiwei; the Northern Pacification Division was responsible for monitoring, arresting, and interrogating, and was responsible for outsiders.

The overall size of the Jinyiwei was certainly large, but at this point, what made outsiders shudder was actually nothing more than the Jinyiwei Northern Pacification Division.

There has always been a saying that "whoever controls the Northern Pacification Office controls the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

But the Jinyiwei is now in a very special stage: the emperor requires that a Jinyiwei that can be as easy to use as his own arms be trained first, so the Southern Pacification Division becomes important.

What's more, the current Southern Pacification Envoy Luo Sigong was actually the person appointed by the emperor to "supervise" Wang Zhizhen.

Luo Sigong only had two superiors who were in charge of the Southern Pacification Office and were of the rank of Fourth Grade. One was in charge of military discipline and punishment, and the other was in charge of military craftsmen. Luo Sigong was responsible for the specific implementation.

The fourth rank is just slightly higher than the fifth rank of the Qianhu Suo under the Zhenfu Division, which is enough.

Wang Zhizhen came to Luo Sigong and asked, "Has the report from the patrol officer arrived?"

"Not yet. I'll exempt you from the curfew. We'll report back later in the night."

Wang Zhizhen nodded and said, "The report has arrived. Please report it to me as soon as possible. I will present it to His Majesty tomorrow morning."

At this time, Zhu Changluo had just let Ma Tang, Sun Long and others go.

This was a detailed understanding that lasted for several hours and was Zhu Changluo's preparation for the next step.

Zou Yi and Liu Ruoyu are relatively young and have been keeping Zhu Changluo busy until now.

"Take what Ma Tang and Sun Long said today, and have Tian Yi and the others complete it. When I come back tomorrow morning, I will review the minutes and submit a report."

"…I obey your command."

This is crazy. Do I have to work overtime all night on the first day of my official accession to the throne?
(End of this chapter)